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Privacy Policy

The German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (“GIF”, “we”, “our”, “us”) is committed to maintaining the privacy of its users (“user”, “you”). The following information describes how GIF collects and processes information about you when you use our website (the “Website”).

Our Privacy Policy explains:

  • What information we collect and why we collect it.
  • How we use that information.
  • Your rights with regard to the collection of such information.

By using our Website, you agree to this Privacy Policy.

GIF was established by an agreement between the Ministries of Science of the Federal Republic of Germany and the State of Israel, as an instrument complementing the continuous ties in scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries. GIF promotes and funds scientific research projects, conducted jointly by teams of scientists in both countries (“Services”). GIF’s Website facilitates the Services for different users. Such users include Grant applicants (“Applicants”) who wish to submit their research proposal, which includes different types of information, which is processed online for grant eligibility and research assessment purposes and Grantees (“Grantees”), whose information is processed to facilitate grant money transfers etc. The Website also enables different people GIF cooperates with, to process applications and research information for GIF’s provision of the Services, such as the university associated with the Applicant or Grantee (“Research authority”), scientists from the Advisory Committee (“Scientists”) as well as reviewers who were recommended by the Scientists (“Reviewers”), and conduct the peer review process. This includes scientific evaluations by different reviewers while the evaluation form is classified as Confidential.

Collecting Information

Please note that the scope of this Privacy Policy is limited only to information collected by GIF through your use of its Website. Some information may be automatically collected, and some is collected when you interact with our Website. The type of information that may be automatically collected is non-personal information, which includes your session durations, the content you accessed on the Website, the frequency and scope of your use of the Website and information about your computer and internet connection including the operating system you use and browser type.

Please note that if you do not specifically register on our Website to use our Services, we may collect your Personal Information via cookies (as further detailed below); currently we do not use cookies on our site.

Information from which you can be personally identified may also be collected (hereinafter: “Personal Information”) but only if received voluntarily from you, including, without limitation, via the following methods:

a. Registration to use the Website:

If you wish to register to use the Website, we will collect your title, name, email addresses, institution you are associated with and phone number. Once you register, we will then provide you with a username and password to use the Website.

b. Applicant Portal:

We will collect the Personal information required to consider your application. Such information includes, without limitation, your CV information, contact details, support from other sources as well as information regarding the research proposal you submitted and research area.

c. Grantee Portal:

Upon receiving a research grant from GIF, we will collect any information relevant to the provisions of your grant, your involvement in the GIF program you partake in as well as information relevant to your research. Such information includes, without limitation, your CV information, contact details, bank account details and support as well as information regarding any travel arrangements made with respect to your GIF grant.

d. Research Authority Portal:

If you are personnel from the Research Authority (or other university unit), we will collect your name and contact details.

e. Scientific Advisor:

If you are a Scientist and/or a member of a Scientific Advisory Committee, we will collect your information as mentioned under section a., and any information relating to any feedback you submitted via the Website. Furthermore, we will collect the Personal Information of your recommended Reviewers.

f. Reviewers:

If you are a Reviewer using the Website to review and provide a feedback on a research proposal, we will collect your registration information as mentioned under section a., and any information relating to any feedback you submitted via the Website.

Please note, that we may receive your Personal Information from Scientist who recommended and referenced you as a Reviewer.

Use of Information

We use the Personal Information we collect from you for a range of different business purposes according to different legal bases of processing. We may use or process your Personal Information for the following purposes. One or more purposes may apply simultaneously.

1. Providing the Requested Services 

 

  • We collect Personal Information to provide you with the Services you contracted to receive.
  • If you are an Applicant, such Services include reviewing your application and proposed research information to determine if you are eligible for a GIF grant.
  • If you are a Grantee, such Services include assuring that your grant is provided in accordance with its set terms, as well as making arrangements and following procedures relevant to your research and GIF workshops you participate in.
  • If you are a Research Authority personnel, Scientific Advisor or Reviewer, we will collect your Personal Information to enable you to perform your tasks under your respective role, in connection with GIF’s Services.
  • Such collection of information will enable us to provide you with technical and professional assistance, with regard to GIF’s Services relevant to you.

We process the Personal Information where it is necessary for the adequate performance of the contract regarding the requested Services. 

2. Improvement and Development of the Services 

 

  • We collect Personal Information to improve and develop our Services and understand feedback on GIF’s Website and Services.
  • We collect Personal Information for ongoing review and improvement of the information provided on our Website to ensure it is user friendly.
  • We collect Personal Information to improve the management and administration of our business and maintain compliancy with our internal policies and procedures.
  • We conduct surveys and research, test features in development, and analyze the information we must evaluate and improve our Services, develop new features, and conduct audits and troubleshooting activities.

We process this information considering our legitimate interest in improving the Website and Services, to allow our users to have the best experience.

3. Maintain a Safe and Secure Environment

We may use your information to detect and prevent fraud, abuse and security incidents in the following ways;

 

  • Verify and authenticate your identity and prevent unauthorized or illegal activity;
  • Enhance the safety and security of our Website and Services;
  • Conduct security investigations and risk assessments;
  • Prevent or take action against activities that are, or may be, in breach of our terms of service or applicable law.

We process this information considering our legitimate interest in improving our Website and Services and enabling our users to browse in a secure environment.

4. Personalize Content, Advertising and Marketing 

 

  • If you have used GIF’s Services in the past, we have a legitimate business interest for matching the data we collect with other data we had already collected.
  • This enables us to understand your needs and interests, optimize the content we send you and make it more suitable and relevant to your needs.
  • This also enables us to improve your experience on the Website by providing you with personalized content, recommendations, and features. 

We process this information considering our legitimate interest to personalize your experience and customize our content.

Disclosure of Information and Transfer of Data

Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, we reasonably attempt to ensure that we never intentionally disclose any of your Personal Information, to any third party without having received your permission, except as provided for herein or otherwise as permitted or required under law.

Information collected via the application and eligibility assessment process may be disclosed to the GIF’s Board of Governance, Investment committee and Control Committee for the purpose of monitoring GIF’s application and eligibility assessment process and assuring that such meet GIF’s internal standards, policies and procedures. Applicant and Grantee Personal Information may also be disclosed to Research Authority personnel, Scientists and Reviewers, to consider your application and whether your proposed research should be eligible for a GIF grant.

Furthermore, to perform our contractual and other legal responsibilities or purposes, we may, from time to time, need to share your Personal Information with third parties. We may as well share your Personal Information with our affiliates, subsidiaries or any third-party service providers and individuals to facilitate our services or any portion thereof, such as marketing, data management or maintenance services. We may also share your information with analytics service providers for analytics services. Such analytics service providers set their own cookies or other identifiers on your computer, through which they can collect information about your usage of our Website. This helps us compile aggregated statistics about the effectiveness of our Website.

The above-mentioned third parties may be located in countries other than your own, and we may send them information we receive. When such third-party service providers as well as Scientist and Reviewers, process your Personal Information on our behalf, we will assure that they comply with obligations similar to those, which are set forth in this Privacy Policy. We will also assure that they will abide by our data privacy and security requirements and will be allowed to use the Personal Information solely for the purposes we set. We will transfer your Personal Information while using appropriate and suitable safeguards, while using a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts, to ensure your rights and protections travel with your data.

We may also transfer your information, including Personal Information, in connection with a corporate merger, consolidation, the sale of related assets or corporate division or other fundamental corporate changes. Furthermore, information about you may also be released in order to comply with any valid legal obligation or inquiry or process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute or court order. We will also release specific information in special cases, such as if you use the Website to perform an unlawful act or omission or take any act or omission that may damage GIF, its property and goodwill, or if there is an attempted breach of the security of the Website or a physical or property threat to you or others. The authority supervising such activities is the Israeli Privacy Protection Authority, and you have the right to file a complaint to it or any other relevant supervisory authority.

Your Rights

You have the right at any time to request to access or modify your information. To exercise these options, please contact us at admin@gif.org.il.

In some jurisdictions, in particular, those located within the European Union (the “EU”) or within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”), you may be afforded specific rights regarding your Personal Information. Subject to such eligibility, you may have the following rights to:

 

  1. Request a rectification of your Personal Information where the information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete.
  2. Object to the processing of your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes.
  3. Object to the processing of your Personal Information where our legal basis for that processing is that such processing is necessary for our legitimate interests.
  4. Object to an automated decision-making (including profiling) in certain circumstances.
  5. Request the erasure of your Personal Information in certain circumstances, such as where processing is no longer necessary for the purpose it was originally collected for, and there is no compelling reason for us to continue to process or store it;
  6. Receive your Personal Information, or ask us to transfer it to another organization that you have provided to us, which we process by automated means, where our processing is either based on your consent or is necessary for the performance of a contract with you.

Generally, regarding information collected on our Website, GIF is a “Data Controller”. Therefore, if you wish to exercise the above-mentioned rights, please contact us, and we will make our best efforts to fulfill your request.

If you wish to file a request regarding any of the above, you may contact us at: admin@gif.org.il.

Cookies

We may use “cookies” and/or other technologies or files (collectively, “cookies”) to identify how users make use of this Website. This aggregated tracking information may be used to help us improve and enhance the Website experience for all of our users. In addition, cookies are used for adjusting the Website to your personal preferences. Cookies contain information such as the pages you visited, the length of time you stayed on the Website, the location from which you accessed the Website and more. If you would prefer not to have cookies stored on your computer, you may modify your browser settings to reject most cookies, or manually remove cookies that have been placed on your computer. However, by rejecting the cookies, you may be unable to fully access the offerings on this Website. To find out more about cookies, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

Opt In or Opt Out

You are always in control of your data, and if you choose to receive information from us, or others, you can change your mind later. If, at any time, you would like to stop receiving such information or opt out of a feature, you may notify us by writing, to admin@gif.org.il. You should be aware, however, that it is not always possible to completely remove or modify information in our databases and servers, although we will always make reasonable efforts to do so upon your request.

Links to Other Websites

This Website may provide links to other websites. Please be aware that these other websites are not covered by our Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not cover the information practices exercised by other providers of products or services, advertisers or other websites, companies or individuals, which are not owned or controlled by GIF. We suggest that when linking to another website, you always read that website’s privacy policy before volunteering any personally identifiable information.

Data Security

We deploy industry standard measures to ensure the security, confidentiality, integrity and availability of the Personal Information we process. We maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards, and test and update these periodically. We endeavor to restrict access to Personal Information on a ‘need to know’ basis for the provision of Services to you. No such measures are perfect or impenetrable. In the event of a security breach, we will take all reasonable action to minimize any harm. Although we will do our best to protect Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of data transmitted to our Website and transmission is at the users own risk.

Data Retention

Generally, GIF does not retain information longer than necessary to provide its Services and for its reasonable business and lawful needs. If you withdraw your consent to us processing your Personal Information, we will erase your Personal Information from our systems, unless the Personal Information is required for GIF to establish, exercise or defend against legal claims or it is necessary for the performance of the requested Services.

Children’s Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not, knowingly or intentionally, collect information about children who are under 16 years of age.

IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 16 YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICE, UNLESS PARENTAL CONSENT IS PROVIDED ACCORDINGLY.

Questions Regarding Our Privacy Policy

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the practices described above, you are always welcome to contact us at admin@gif.org.il.

Revisions and Modifications to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to revise, amend, or modify this Privacy Policy at any time. When changing the policy, we will update this posting accordingly. Please review this Privacy Policy often so that you will remain updated regarding our current policies.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Privacy Policy will be governed and interpreted pursuant to the laws of the State of Israel without giving effect to its choice of law rules. You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or action arising out of or relating to this Privacy Policy shall be to the competent courts in Tel Aviv, Israel, to the exclusion of any other jurisdiction.

Emma Link

Grants Manager

ISRAEL

GIF STAFF

Emma joined the German Israeli Foundation (GIF) team in 2014. She is the Grants Manager and is responsible for the life cycle of our grants, working with grantees from pre-grant to closing.

Prior to joining GIF, Emma worked in resource development for non-profit organizations in Israel.  She was responsible for grant writing, and designed campaigns and events for worthy causes.

Emma completed her studies at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.  She worked in graduate recruitment and human resources before moving to Israel with her family in 2000.

Emma is committed to the goals of GIF and takes pride in the research collaborations and friendships created between scientists in Israel and Germany.

Professor Michael Rosenbluh

Bar-Ilan University 

ISRAEL

GOVERNOR

Michael Rosenbluh obtained his Ph. D. in physics from MIT in 1978.  His research was in experimental laser spectroscopy, in particular the exploration of the effects of very high magnetic fields on the spectroscopy of atomic He.  After receiving his Ph. D., he continued as a staff member of the MIT Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory.  In 1980 he joined the Physics Faculty of Bar-Ilan University as Senior Lecturer and established a laser laboratory and research group.  He also continued as a part time staff member at MIT, at first at the Magnet Laboratory and then at Lincoln Laboratory until 1988.  He became Full Professor at Bar-Ilan in 1992 and was Chairman of the Physics Department from 2011 to 2017.  While at Bar-Ilan he was instrumental in establishing the Electrical Engineering Faculty and the Department of Optometry, which he chaired for nine years. He was at IBM Almaden Research Lab for a Sabbatical and has spent a number of short Sabbaticals as Visiting Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado and at NIST in Boulder, Colorado.

 

His research has focused on the interaction of light with matter.  He has performed extensive research in building and using lasers with which he has investigated laser spectroscopy in atomic systems, applications to medical systems, optical communications, cryptography, defense systems and quantum sensing. Special emphasis has been placed on precision spectroscopy and applied to Cs and Rb atomic clocks and magnetometers. An experimental program to study scattered light from random systems was started in the laboratory in the late 80’s and has resulted in many advances in this field.  In particular, speckle correlation techniques and image reconstruction from speckle patterns has been an active field in the laboratory.  In 1990, during a Sabbatical year at IBM Almaden Research Lab he performed a squeezed soliton experiment in a single mode fiber at a wavelength of 1.5 to 1.6 mm.  With these experiments he entered the field of ultrafast and quantum optics and broadband sources and has continued experiments at Bar Ilan in this field.

 

Professor Rosenbluh has been collaborating with leading researchers in quantum optics both in Israel, Germany, France, Australia and the USA and a number of other countries.   He has published more than 260 refereed scientific papers in books and journals, holds a number of patents and has given many invited talks at international conferences.  He has directed more than 40 Ph. D. students and over 30 M. Sc. students while at MIT and Bar-Ilan. 

Professor Dan Meyerstein

Ariel University

ISRAEL

GOVERNOR

Dan Meyerstein, born in 1938 in Jerusalem, Israel, earned his M.Sc. in Physical Chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between 1956 and 1961. He then worked at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center from 1961 to 1965, during which he pursued his Ph.D. studies at the Hebrew University under the supervision of Prof. M. Anbar. After completing his studies, Meyerstein spent a year as a Research Fellow at Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S. He began his long academic career in 1968 at the Chemistry Department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, where he served until 2004, including a joint appointment with the Nuclear Research Centre Negev from 1968 to 1983. He later became Professor Emeritus at Ben-Gurion University in 2004 and has held a position at Ariel University since 2012.

Throughout his career, Meyerstein has made significant contributions to the scientific community, serving as President of both the Israel Chemical Society (1988-91) and the Ariel University (1995-2012). He also chaired the Israel Society for Oxygen and Free Radical Research from 1998 to 2000. Meyerstein’s achievements have been recognized by numerous honors, including the Meitner-Humboldt Research Prize in 1997, the Kolthoff Prize in 1998, and election to the Academia Europaea in 2011. His accolades also include the Israel Chemical Society Prize of Excellence in 2017, a special issue of the Journal of Coordination Chemistry in 2018, and a Dr. Honoris Causa from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2019. In 2024, he will be honored with both a symposium at the ACS Spring Meeting and the Dionysiou Advanced Oxidation Technologies Award.

 

Professor Sarit Kraus

Bar-Ilan University

ISRAEL

GOVERNOR

Sarit Kraus (Ph.D. Computer Science, Hebrew University, 1989) is a Professor of Computer Science and Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences at Bar-Ilan University. Her research is focused on intelligent agents and multi-agent systems integrating machine-learning techniques with optimization, logic and game theory methods. In particular, she studies the development of intelligent agents that can interact proficiently with people and with robots. She has also contributed to the research on machine learning, XAI, agent optimization, decision support systems, robustness,  automated negotiations, autonomous vehicles, homeland security, adversarial patrolling, social networks and nonmonotonic reasoning.

For her work, she received many prestigious awards. She was awarded the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, the IJCAI Research Excellent Award, the ACM SIGART Agents Research Award, the ACM Athena Lecturer, the EMET prize, and was twice the winner of the IFAAMAS influential paper award. She is an ACM, AAAI and EurAI fellow and a recipient of the advanced ERC grant. She also received a special commendation from the city of Los Angeles, together with Prof. Tambe, Prof. Ordonez and their USC students, for the creation of the ARMOR security scheduling system. She has published over 400 papers in leading journals and major conferences, co-authored five books and was IJCAI-2019 program chair and was elected as IJCAI-2027 conference chair.  She is an elected member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities.

Professor Yoram Weiss

Hadassa Medical Organization

ISRAEL

GOVERNOR

Dr. Yoram Weiss was appointed Director General of Hadassah Medical Organization, following his tenure as Director of Hadassah Medical Center, Ein Kerem (2014 – 2021). He previously held the position of Medical Director of Hadassah Ein Kerem (2013 – 2014), Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology (2009-2014) and Director of the Center for Surgical Critical Care Medicine (2006-2009).

 

Dr. Weiss received his MD degree from the Israel Institute of Technology – Technion, Haifa, Israel in 1990, following which he trained in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Hadassah and the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Dr. Weiss has more than 20-years’ experience treating patients undergoing major surgical operations and patients suffering from complex multi-organ failure in the ICU. He has extensive experience in both basic and clinical research including the design and execution of large-scale clinical trials.

 

In recent years, Dr. Weiss has served on the Board of Directors of several biotech companies. Dr. Weiss twice won the prestigious research grant of the National Science Foundation and the European Critical Care Research Network Basic Science Award from the European Association for Intensive Care Medicine.

Elke-Vera Kotowski

Dr. Elke-Vera Kotowski

Moses Mendelssohn Foundation

GERMANY

GOVERNOR

Dr. Elke-Vera Kotowski studied political science, literature, philosophy and cultural studies in Duisburg and Berlin.

She has been researching and teaching at the University of Potsdam since 1994 and was involved in the establishment of the “Jewish Studies” course at the University of Potsdam.

Her research areas are European-Jewish literary, cultural, and social history with a focus on the history of identity and mentality of German-speaking Jewry in the 19th and 20th century.

A special area of research that Ms. Kotowski has been conducting since 2012, in cooperation with the German Foreign Office and German embassies, among others, is the cultural heritage of Jewish emigrants worldwide.

From 2009-2016, she was the academic coordinator of the Walther Rathenau Graduate School in the network of Berlin and Brandenburg universities.

She has been a member of the Selma Stern Center for Jewish Studies Berlin Brandenburg since its founding (2011). She has also been chief curator of the Moses Mendelssohn Foundation and executive director of the Moses Mendelssohn Institute since 2020.

She is currently developing a documentation center on the history of the Berlin deportation site “Platform 17” as well as a student living and working campus for the development of new concepts of commemoration and remembrance in the German-Jewish context (www.else-ury-campus.de).

Gila Gamliel

Gila Gamliel

Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.

ISRAEL

CO-CHAIRPERSON

Gila Gamliel is an Israeli politician who currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Likud party, and as Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Gamliel is the first woman to serve as the chairperson of The Israeli Student Union, and served as a member of the World
Economic Forum.

During her first term in the Knesset starting in 2003, she chaired the committee of the Status of Women, and in March 2005 was appointed Deputy Minister of Agriculture.

In April 2009, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Gamliel as Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, with the portfolio of the Advancement of Young People, Students, and Women.

In 2013, Gamliel was appointed as the Coalition Coordinator in the Finance Committee and was one of the leaders of The Centralization Law.

After the 2015 elections, Gamliel was appointed Minister for Senior Citizens in the new government. Her ministry was then reconstituted as the Ministry for Social Equality in August 2015.

In May 2020, Gamliel was appointed as Minister for Environmental Protection, and led significant programs in dealing with the climate changes.

In 2023 Gamliel served as the Minister of Intelligence, the first female in the position and a participant in the Security Cabinet of the government.

In March 2024, Gamliel was appointed as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Gamliel is married, with two daughters, and lives in Tel Aviv.

Prof. Avi Rivkind

Hadassah Medical Center

ISRAEL

GOVERNOR

Professor Avraham Rivkind, M.D., F.A.C.S. Professor of Surgery, former Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Head of the Shock Trauma Unit in the Department of the General Surgery at Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in 1980. Personal physician to the late President of the State of Israel, Mr. Ezer Weizman, as well as advisor to the Surgeon General of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on general surgery, trauma and ethics. Professor Rivkind completed a Fellowship in traumatology and critical care at the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services System (MIEMSS), Baltimore, Maryland, and was a visiting Associate Professor in Trauma and Fore-gut surgery at the University of Southern California. He is Chairperson of the Israel Committee on Trauma, and Director of the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Program, Jerusalem, Israel.
Professor Rivkind was awarded the Karl Stoll Chair in Surgical Trauma and was recently honored by the State of Israel as a torchbearer for Israel’s 75th Independence Day ceremony. Professor Rivkind is a widely recognized expert in natural disaster management, motor vehicle accidents, and identifying and treating blast injury as a result of shock waves. His research interests include hemorrhagic shock, fluid re-suscitation and all aspects of trauma care; primary interests in fore-gut surgery, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), esophageal and stomach diseases and cancer.

Sitara Staiger

Germany Liaison and Program Manager

ISRAEL

GIF STAFF

Sitara joined the German Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF) as Germany Liaison and Program Manager in October 2025.

Prior to joining GIF, Sitara worked with the European Leadership Network (ELNET) in Tel Aviv and Berlin, where she managed communications and supported initiatives promoting Europe-Israel relations. She also gained cross-cultural experience at the Council of Europe in Vienna and at the European Parliament in Brussels.
 
Sitara holds a Master’s degree in Security and Diplomacy from Tel Aviv University and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Westminster in London. She is passionate about advancing bilateral scientific cooperation and strengthening the partnership between Israel and Germany.

Dr. Mirit Liran

Scientific Manager

ISRAEL

GIF STAFF

Dr. Mirit Liran is the Scientific Manager of the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF). She holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Tel Aviv University, where she investigated how alcohol addiction influences adaptive myelination in the brain. She also holds a B.Sc. in Life Sciences and Philosophy with a focus on consciousness studies and an M.Sc. in Biotechnology and Neurobiology.
Before joining GIF, Mirit gained experience in both academia and industry, serving as a Scientific Marketing Manager at NVision Imaging Technologies in Germany, a Research Development Manager at Medint Medical Intelligence, and a medical data analyst. She has authored peer-reviewed publications, contributed to successful grant proposals, and is a co-inventor on a patent related to insulin-degrading enzyme antibodies.
Passionate about advancing scientific excellence and binational collaboration, she brings expertise in research, science communication, and strategy to her role at GIF.

Verena Shifferman

ISRAEL

GIF DIRECTOR

Verena Shifferman has served as Director of the German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (GIF) since February 2025. She brings to this role over two decades of experience in international education, academic diplomacy, and crisis management, with a strong and sustained focus on German-Israeli cooperation.

Prior to joining GIF, Verena Shifferman worked as a Senior Advisor at the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) in Bonn, Germany. From 2021 to 2022, she was the Language and Education Consultant at the Goethe-Institut Boston, where she supported German language programs across New England and advised educational institutions on transatlantic cooperation.

From 2013 to 2021, she headed the DAAD Information Centre in Tel Aviv, establishing and managing the DAAD’s presence in Israel. In this role, she promoted academic exchange and cooperation between Israeli and German universities, advised students and researchers, and organized numerous delegation visits by academic and political leaders.

Earlier in her career, she taught German as a Foreign Language to diplomats and international professionals in Vienna and Tel Aviv and worked in publishing and civil society organizations.

Verena Shifferman holds a Master’s degree in Political Science, Gender Studies, and German Literature from the University of Freiburg. She also studied at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Basel, and the European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin. With professional experience across Germany, Israel, Austria, and the United States, she brings a deeply rooted, cross-cultural perspective to her leadership at GIF.

Prof. Yehuda
Skornick

Tel Aviv University

ISRAEL

GOVERNOR

Born in Israel Board certified surgeon since 1978.

Served in IDF as chief surgeon of The Army Frontline Field Hospital.

Basic Research at the Membrane department of the Weitzman Institute of Science (1978-1980).

Visiting Scientist at the Surgery Branch, National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Health (NIH) Bethesda Maryland, USA 1980-1982, 1988.

Full Professor of Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. Served as the head of Surgery Department at the Tel Aviv Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital).

Former President of Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israel Pre-hospital emergency services.

Currently, board member of the friend organization of MDA.

Active in the “Advanced Surgery Group”, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv.

Served as the Chairman of the Committee for the Early Cancer Detection at the Israel Cancer Association.

Served as member in the Research committee of the Israel Cancer Association and at the Research committee of the Israel Ministry of Health.

Member of the American Society of Surgical Oncology.

Member of the Board of Trustees, The Bar-Ilan University Ramat Gan.

Board member of the Israel Opera. Board member of the Israel Culture and Art Council and chairman of its Music Section committee.

Publications: More than 150 original articles published in international professional journals and as chapters in books.

Active participation in more than 400 international scientific conferences.

Professor Dr. Eva Unger

Humboldt University of Berlin / Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB)

GERMANY

GOVERNOR

Prof. Dr. Eva Unger is a leading researcher in the field of hybrid photovoltaics, currently specializing in the development of scalable solution-based processed for Perovskite PV devices. She did her undergraduate education in Chemistry at the University of Marburg and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at Uppsala University.

During her postdoctoral research at Stanford University in 2012-2014, she emerged as an early adopter of Halide Perovskite Photovoltaics. Eva Unger started her independent research group in a dual appointment between Lund University, where she held a tenure track position, and Helmholtz Center Berlin, where she led a young investigator group funded by BMBF.

Since 2022 she is a Professor at Humboldt University Berlin funded by a Helmholtz program supporting excellent female scientists. In 2023 she received the Helmholtz High Impact award together with three other Yound Scientists (Albrecht, Abate & Saliba) and was among the “100 Köpfe der Berliner Wissenschaft” of the Tagesspiegel in 2025.

Professor Monika
Wohlrab-Sahr

University of Leipzig

GERMANY

GOVERNOR

Monika Wohlrab-Sahr was born in 1957. She studied Protestant Theology and Sociology from 1976 to 1985.

She holds a doctorate in sociology from Philipps-University Marburg (1991) and a Habilitation from Free University in Berlin (1998). From 1999-2006. Monika Wohlrab-Sahr has been professor of Sociology of Religion at the University of Leipzig, since 2006 she is professor of Cultural Sociology there. She was a research fellow at UC Berkeley, the European University Institute in Florence, the Centre for Advanced Study at JNU in New Delhi and at the University of Montréal. She has done research on conversion to Islam, Islam in Europe and – over many years – on secularity, at first related to the East German secularization process, and then expanding globally and historically. At present she is heading a big research project on “The Contested Legacy of 1989. Appropriations between Politicization, Popularization and Historical-Political Education”, and she is one of the directors (with Christoph Kleine) of the Centre of Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences on “Multiple Secularities: Beyond the West, Beyond Modernities” (funded by the DFG since 2016).

She has been on the Review Board for Social Sciences of the German Research Council (DFG) for 8 years, for 4 years she served as the spokesperson of this board. She also has been the director of the Leibniz-program at the University of Leipzig, and is member of several Scientific Advisory Boards and Editorial Boards.

Susanne Burger

Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space 

GERMANY

GOVERNOR

Susanne Burger is the former Director General for European and International Cooperation in Education and Research (2018–2021) at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (now the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space). In this capacity, she was responsible for advancing Germany’s international partnerships in education and research, with a strong focus on Europe and Israel.

During her career at the Ministry, she held several senior positions, including Head of Directorate “Europe” (2013–2018), Head of Division “Education and Research” at the Permanent Representation of the Federal Republic of Germany to the European Union in Brussels (2009–2013), Head of Division “EU Education Programmes and International Cooperation in Education” (2002), and Head of Division “Education Policy Issues” (1998).

Earlier roles include positions at the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) in Brussels and the German Permanent Representation to the EU. She also worked as Personal Assistant to Parliamentary State Secretary Dr. Norbert Lammert and as Desk Officer for East Asia at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg.

She studied Law in Nanjing (China) and Tübingen, completing the First State Examination in Law, and holds an M.A. in East Asian Studies.

Dr. Marcus Pleyer

State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space

GERMANY

ACTING CHAIRPERSON

Marcus Pleyer studied Law in Heidelberg and Singapore as the recipient of a scholarship from the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. After graduating, he completed his practical legal training from 1995–1997 at Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court. From 1997–1998, he completed his Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at the University of Edinburgh, UK, as the holder of a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service. He then moved to the Law Faculty at TU Dresden, where he worked from 1998–2004 as an academic assistant at the Chair of Public Law. Whilst here, he completed his doctoral degree (Dr. jur.) on the subject of federal equality. In 2002, he completed his Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) at the University of Wales, in cooperation with the FernUniversität in Hagen.

From 2004–2006, Dr Marcus Pleyer worked as an officer at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority before moving to the Federal Ministry of Finance in 2006. Following this, he worked as senior adviser at the Federal Chancellery (small and medium-sized enterprises, competition policy, commercial law, stabilization of the financial market, G7, G20) until 2011.

In 2011, he returned to the Federal Ministry of Finance, where he became Head of the Minister’s Office for former Federal Minister Wolfgang Schäuble until 2014. Subsequently, he headed the Division “International Financial Markets” until 2015. From 2015–2025, he was Head of Directorate VII A (combating terrorism and proliferation financing and money laundering, cybersecurity, sanctions, digital financial technologies, KfW and other promotional banks, consumer protection, supervision of the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) at the Federal Ministry of Finance.

Since 2015, Dr Pleyer has also performed a number of special roles. He was an advisor to the Ukrainian Finance Minister in Kyiv from 2015–2016 on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Foreign Office. Between 2016 and 2025, Dr Pleyer was a member of the Supervisory Board of the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and, as a member of the Board of Trustees, he contributed to the setup and development of the Federal Nuclear Waste Management Fund (holding 24 billion EUR) from 2017 until 2025. From 2019–2020, he held the position of Vice President of the Financial Action Task Force – the international organisation for tackling terrorism financing and money laundering – in Paris before becoming President from 2020–2022, the first presidency under the extended two-year term of the FATF’s revised mandate. Furthermore, from 2022 until 2025, he led a project group on reforming the structures for fighting financial crime in Germany.

In May 2025, Dr Marcus Pleyer became State Secretary (Deputy Minister) at the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. 

(c) Bundesregierung/ Jesco Denzel.

Dorothee Bär

Federal Minister of Research, Technology and Space

GERMANY

CHAIRPERSON

Dorothee Bär was born on 19 April 1978 in the historic cathedral city Bamberg, just a stone’s throw from her home district Haßberge where she grew up in the town of Ebelsbach. At the age of 14, she joined the youth organization of the CDU/CSU, before joining the main CSU party in 1994. She moved to Bavaria’s capital city Munich to study and was very active throughout Bavaria as chair of the regional branch of the German Association of Christian Democrat Students.

She became a member of the CSU executive committee in 2001 before being elected to the German Bundestag in the 2002 general election. From 2009 to 2013, she served as Deputy Secretary-General of the CSU as well as spokesperson for the whole CDU/CSU parliamentary group on matters pertaining to family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth. She was Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure from December 2013 until March 2018. From March 2018 until December 2021, she was a Minister of State at the Federal Chancellery and Federal Commissioner for Digitalization. From 2021 to 2025, she held the position of Deputy Chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for matters pertaining to family affairs and culture.

©Bundesregierung Steffen Kugler